Waco's only Dunkin' Donuts draws interest

Baylor has Waco's only Dunkin' Donuts and, since 1995, customers have come from all over the area to get their donuts and coffee at the store in the Bill Daniel Student Center.

The donuts are made in a kitchen at the student center daily. A baker begins making the donuts at 9 p.m. After working most of the night, the baker has a helper who comes in at 4 a.m. Finally, after working throughout the night, the bakers have the donuts ready by 6:15 a.m.

Dunkin' Donuts is the world's largest donut, coffee and bagel store, according to the company's official Web site.

'We have quite a few customers that come here from off campus. They buy a dozen or two donuts and our coffee, too,' Tuesday Veal, a Dunkin' Donuts employee, said.

'We sell our coffee by the pound; we sell the whole beans, or we can grind it for them. We sell a lot of coffee -- usually about two 5-pound bags of coffee a day.'

Baylor students can be seen lined up at the donut shop in the student center.

Although there are more than 5,000 Dunkin' Donuts stores in the world, the nearest shop is about 100 miles away.

Jane Powell, manager of public relations for Dunkin' Donuts, said, 'The nearest Dunkin' Donuts is in Austin, Garland, or the Tyler area.'

Before ARAMARK set up the local franchise, Baylor's donuts were supplied by Jack N' Jill Donuts here. 'We delivered to Baylor for years and years before ARAMARK set up a shop,' said Jack N' Jill Donuts owner, Rick Warren.

John McRae, a 1994 Baylor graduate, and director of retail operations for the Baylor Dining Services, said, 'Throughout the country, a lot of the universities that we do food service for have Dunkin' Donuts. This is just one of the national brands that ARAMARK partners with.'